Interpretive Guide to the Safety Technical Specification for Power Banks| GB 47372-2026 Mandatory National Standard

OVERVIEW

1. Standard Overview

This standard further strengthens the safety requirements for power banks on top of the two general mandatory national standards, namely GB 31241-2022 for lithium-ion batteries and battery packs used in portable electronic products, and GB 4943.1-2022 for audio/video, information and communication technology equipment, and business/office equipment.

1.1 Basic Information

Standard NumberGB 47372-2026

Standard NameSafety Technical Specification for Power Banks

Nature of StandardMandatory National Standard

Date of IssueApril 3, 2026

Date of ImplementationApril 1, 2027

Authority in ChargeMinistry of Industry and Information Technology

Lead Drafting OrganizationChina Electronics Standardization Institute

1.2 Scope of Application

This standard applies to portable mobile power supplies commonly known as power banks, namely movable power sources with a rated energy not exceeding 100Wh.
It also applies to portable energy storage power supplies commonly referred to as outdoor power stations, namely mobile energy storage products with a rated energy above 100Wh.
Based on GB 31241-2022 and GB 4943.1-2022, this specification introduces additional safety requirements that are more specific to real-world power bank products and usage scenarios.

Key Focus of the Standard

This specification does not focus only on whether a product passes factory tests. It also incorporates cyclic aging, thermal runaway, misuse such as incorrect port insertion, abnormal temperature logging, traceability coding, and manufacturing consistency into the mandatory safety framework, with the goal of reducing fire, smoke, and explosion risks at the source.

BACKGROUND

2. Background to Standard Development

The release of this standard directly responds to quality variation, safety incidents, and stronger regulatory needs exposed by the rapid growth of the power bank industry. It signals that a high-ownership product category has entered a stage of higher-standard governance.

2.1 Industry Status

China has become one of the world’s most important production and consumption markets for power banks, and the products are used frequently across a wide range of scenarios.

Large market scale: Power banks are widely owned and deeply connected to consumers’ daily lives and usage scenarios.
Quality and safety risks: Some enterprises still lag behind in process capability and quality management, resulting in uneven product quality.
Frequent safety incidents: From 2019 to 2021, power bank-related fires nationwide reached 1,380 cases, causing 11 deaths.

2.2 Necessity of the Standard

In recent years, safety incidents involving heating, smoking, and burning of power banks in public spaces and transportation scenarios have shown a growing trend.

Risk of internal battery short circuit
Safety hazards caused by performance degradation after long-term use
Manufacturing process and structural design that fail to meet standard requirements
Extreme environmental conditions during transportation and use

Against this backdrop, issuing a dedicated mandatory national standard for power banks is of major importance for regulating market order, protecting consumer interests, and promoting higher-quality industrial development.

1,380 Cases Power bank-related fire incidents from 2019 to 2021

11 Deaths Fatalities caused by those incidents

12 Months Length of the transition period set by the new standard

CORE REQUIREMENTS

3. Core Safety Technical Requirements

This chapter is the centerpiece of the specification. It is organized around five key requirements and three high-risk usage scenarios. The focus is not merely whether products can pass ex-factory testing, but whether high-temperature exposure, overcharge, squeezing, long-term aging, and misuse risks are brought under control at the design and manufacturing stage.

3.1

Five Key Requirements

The specification systematically raises the safety threshold for power banks from five perspectives: intrinsic battery safety, lithium plating after cyclic aging, intelligent management, unique coding and traceability, and full-process manufacturing control.

01

(I) Strengthening Intrinsic Battery Safety

The objective is to improve protection under abuse conditions such as high temperature, overcharge, and squeezing, thereby reducing risks at the source.

A new nail penetration test is introduced, requiring a fully charged cell to be pierced at the geometric center with a 4mm steel needle at 20±1mm/s and held for five minutes without fire, explosion, or leakage.
The squeeze test is tightened by replacing flat-plate compression with round-bar compression and increasing the maximum force from 13kN to 20kN.
The thermal abuse test is upgraded from 130°C to 135°C, and outdoor power products are subject to an added non-ignition requirement under heating.
The overcharge test voltage is raised to 1.3 times the charge limit voltage, significantly increasing safety under abnormal charging conditions.

02

(II) Adding Lithium Plating Detection After Cyclic Aging

The goal is to reduce internal short-circuit risk after long-term use and lower the safety hazards associated with aging products.

A lithium plating check after 300 charge-discharge cycles is added to assess safety after prolonged use.
Products are required to intelligently adjust charge voltage after a certain usage duration or cycle count to reduce aging-related safety risks.
A recommended safe service life must also be marked to remind consumers to replace products whose safety margin has declined over time.

03

(III) Introducing Intelligent Management Requirements

The goal is to improve transparency during use and strengthen the handling of abnormal conditions, thereby protecting consumers’ right to know.

Real-time monitoring of key parameters such as voltage and temperature is explicitly required so abnormalities can be identified promptly.
Abnormal information must be stored and retrievable, enabling consumers to review important records such as over-temperature events.
When severe abnormal conditions such as overcharge occur, the power bank must support a disabling or lockout function to prevent continued charging or discharging in a faulty state.

04

(IV) Implementing Unique Product Coding Management

The objective is to improve market transparency and achieve lifecycle traceability.

Each power bank must carry a unique product code that serves as its exclusive identity number.
The code must include core information such as the manufacturer of the battery used in the product, making battery brand traceability possible.
Rated energy marking is also clearly required to facilitate screening, supervision, and recall management in civil aviation, rail transport, and other contexts.

05

(V) Strengthening Full-Process Manufacturing Control

The goal is to improve the overall safety level of power banks from both the raw-material side and the production-process side.

Explicit requirements are introduced for raw materials, including separator heat shrinkage rate, electrolyte water content not exceeding 20ppm, and HF content not exceeding 100ppm.
Production process control and prevention measures for metal contamination inside the battery are required to reduce manufacturing defect risks.
The use of second-life, recycled, or refurbished cells is strictly prohibited to ensure source quality and material safety.

3.2

Enhanced Requirements for Specific Safety Scenarios

The standard further refines the provisions around three typical issues: internal short-circuit risk, high-temperature safety, and misuse or abuse protection.

(I) Internal Short-Circuit Risk Control

The main causes of internal battery short circuit include external mechanical stress, aging-induced lithium plating in electrodes, and contamination introduced through materials or production.

The squeeze test is tightened by switching from flat compression to round-bar compression and raising the force from 13kN to 20kN.
A nail penetration test is added, bringing a more destructive verification method into the consumer battery safety context for the first time.
A lithium plating check after 300 cycles is added to evaluate short-circuit risk resulting from long-term use.
Incoming material inspection and production management are strengthened through requirements on impurity control and manufacturing process discipline.

(II) High-Temperature Safety Enhancement

The standard reduces the probability of safety incidents caused by high-temperature use through coordinated requirements on materials, battery behavior, protective circuitry, and user-facing information.

At the raw material level, separator heat shrinkage performance is controlled to reduce internal short circuits caused by thermal shrinkage.
At the battery level, the thermal abuse test temperature is increased from 130°C to 135°C, and outdoor power products are additionally required not to ignite under heating.
At the protection circuit level, charging and discharging must stop immediately when battery temperature exceeds the manufacturer’s maximum specified temperature.
At the user interaction level, abnormal temperature events must be monitored and stored so consumers can review over-temperature records.

(III) Misuse and Abuse Protection

Beyond the baseline requirements of GB 31241 and GB 4943.1, the standard adds provisions for misuse scenarios that commonly occur in actual daily use.

Where input and output ports have increasingly similar form factors, additional safety requirements apply to incorrect insertion scenarios.
A low-voltage lockout requirement is introduced so that products that have entered unsafe abnormal states cannot continue to be used.

COMPARISON

4. Comparison Between the New and Previous Requirements

Compared with GB 31241-2022, the dedicated power bank specification introduces a number of scenario-based tests and marking requirements that had not previously been explicitly mandated.

4.1 Key Differences from GB 31241-2022

The key changes are concentrated in stricter test conditions, criteria closer to real-world use, more complete traceability markings, and the formal inclusion of post-aging safety risk evaluation.

Item	Previous Baseline Requirement	GB 47372-2026 Requirement	Main Change
Battery Nail Penetration Test	Not mandatory	Newly added	Brings nail penetration into the consumer power bank safety framework for the first time
Squeeze Test	Flat compression, max. 13kN	Round-bar compression, max. 20kN	Test condition is stricter and more representative of real-world compression
Thermal Abuse Test	130°C / 30 min	135°C / 60 min	Both temperature and duration are increased
Overcharge Test	1.4 times rated voltage	1.3 times charge limit voltage	Test logic is closer to actual charging boundaries
Cyclic Aging Detection	Not mandatory	New 300-cycle lithium plating check	Covers long-term safety for the first time
Protection Circuit	Mainly single-layer protection	Enhanced multi-layer protection and abnormal lockout	Reduces overcharge and faulty-operation risk
Unique Product Code	No unified requirement	Mandatory	Supports traceability and recalls
Recommended Safe Service Life	No mandatory marking	Explicitly required	Improves consumer awareness of aging-related replacement

4.2 Newly Added Mandatory Markings

Rated energy must be marked so aviation, rail, and similar scenarios can quickly verify carrying conditions.
A traceable unique code must be provided and linked to battery manufacturing information.
A recommended safe service life must be displayed to guide consumers in recognizing aging risks.
Manufacturer information, OEM information, and key material information must be disclosed as required.

Practical Impact of the New Markings

Consumers can better understand product origin and key parameters when making purchasing decisions.
Regulators and platforms can perform inspection, tracking, and incident handling more efficiently.
Enterprises will need simultaneous upgrades to packaging, nameplates, manuals, and information systems.

IMPACT

5. Implementation Impact of the Standard

The new standard raises the product threshold and will also reshape corporate compliance paths, consumer purchasing logic, and the competitive structure of the entire industry.

5.1 Impact on Consumers

Power bank safety will be significantly improved in high-risk scenarios such as overcharge, overheating, internal short circuit, and misuse.
Users will be able to understand product status more clearly through markings and abnormal event records, further strengthening their right to know.
Products already purchased and certified under CCC can continue to be normally owned and used if they are compliant.
Consumers should still pay attention to the recommended safe service life and replace aging or abnormal products in time.

5.2 Impact on Enterprises

Enterprises need to increase investment in R&D, verification, and production line upgrades in order to transition to the new standard.
Higher-grade cells, structural parts, and control measures will create additional material and manufacturing cost pressure.
Supplier selection, incoming material control, traceability labeling, and after-sales management will all face higher requirements.
The industry is expected to accelerate the elimination of low-quality capacity and concentrate toward stronger brands and higher-quality products.

5.3 Impact on the Industry

The standard will help regulate market order and reduce the space for low-quality products to compete only on low price.
By raising the safety threshold, it will force technology upgrades in materials, structure, and protection design.
It also provides a more stable basis for alignment with international systems and participation in overseas markets.

TRANSITION

6. Transition Arrangement

To ensure a stable changeover, the specification provides a full transition arrangement so enterprises, channels, and the market can complete the shift in an orderly manner.

6.1 Transition Period Setup

The transition period lasts 12 months, from April 3, 2026 to April 1, 2027.
During this period, enterprises may choose either the new standard or the previous one for production and sales.
After the transition period ends, the relevant products must uniformly comply with the Safety Technical Specification for Power Banks.

6.2 Purpose of the Transition Period

It gives enterprises the necessary time to complete product development, structural adjustment, and production line upgrades.
It provides channels, distributors, and retail terminals with a buffer to clear existing inventory.
It helps avoid resource waste and excessive market volatility while allowing compliant products to enter the market smoothly.

PROCESS

7. Standard Development Process

The standard was formed through project initiation, research, testing and verification, public consultation, and multiple rounds of technical discussion, with participation from many stakeholders.

7.1 Drafting Organizations

The standard was organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, with the China Electronics Standardization Institute leading the drafting group.
Participants included manufacturers across the power bank, battery, material, and chip segments.
Shared power bank operators, civil aviation and railway transport organizations, and testing and certification bodies were also involved.

7.2 Development Process

On September 30, 2025, the National Standardization Administration officially issued the project approval plan.
Extensive industry research and collection of user feedback were carried out during development.
Multiple rounds of prototype testing and verification were conducted around key issues such as overcharge, nail penetration, and compression.
After public consultation, a large volume of feedback was incorporated and processed before the final version was formed.

7.3 Scientific Rigor

The clauses were repeatedly reviewed by multiple stakeholders to ensure sound technical routes and clear boundary conditions.
The standard reflects both strict safety bottom lines and reasonable industry feasibility.
Overall, it demonstrates a drafting logic that is scientific in content, balanced in strictness, and practical in implementation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

8. Implementation Recommendations

Before the standard officially takes effect, enterprises and consumers should each prepare in terms of selection, verification, identification, and day-to-day usage.

8.1 Recommendations for Enterprises

In scheduling terms, 2026 should prioritize cell selection, structural prototypes, and adjustment of key circuit solutions.
In the middle and later stages of the transition period, enterprises should complete third-party testing, certification applications, and synchronized updates to packaging and manuals.
Particular attention should be paid to cell consistency, QR code durability, and the completeness of warning statements in manuals.
On cost control, larger-scale procurement and higher integration of core devices may gradually dilute incremental costs.

8.2 Recommendations for Consumers

Consumers can judge whether a product is more trustworthy through three steps: checking labels, checking information, and testing functions.

Check the markings: verify rated capacity, rated energy, standard number, manufacturer information, and the presence of a unique code.
Check the records: use the unique code or related channels to verify the testing body, report number, battery brand, and validity period.
Test the functions: observe whether protection functions work properly, whether charging produces abnormal heat, and whether the ports are prone to misuse-related risk.
In daily use, avoid sunlight exposure, heavy pressure, and overcharging. Replace the product promptly if swelling, sharp runtime decline, or other clear aging symptoms appear.

OUTLOOK

9. Future Outlook

As battery technology, fast-charging technology, and intelligent management capabilities continue to evolve, safety standards for the power bank field are expected to keep improving.

9.1 Industry Trends

As sodium-ion, semi-solid-state, and other new battery technologies gradually mature, stricter safety clauses may be added in future revisions.
Power bank products are expected to integrate more monitoring, judgement, and active protection functions, further enhancing intelligent safety management.
Alignment between domestic and international standards will continue to improve product circulation efficiency in global markets.
Certification frameworks such as CCC are expected to further strengthen regulatory intensity and market access control.

9.2 Direction of Standard Evolution

Future revisions may further refine unified or tiered requirements for higher-energy storage products.
Environmental requirements, material traceability, and fast-charging protocol compatibility may all become key themes in subsequent updates.
Requirements related to smart chips, temperature recording, and data interfaces may also become more explicit.

CONCLUSION

10. Conclusion

The release and implementation of the Safety Technical Specification for Power Banks (GB 47372-2026) marks an important milestone in the development of China’s power bank industry. Through five key requirements, the standard strengthens intrinsic safety across the full chain of design, materials, manufacturing, and use, and is of great significance for protecting lives and property, regulating market order, and promoting high-quality development.

For enterprises, although short-term compliance costs will rise, this is an unavoidable path toward winning consumer trust and securing long-term market advantage. For consumers, the new standard will drive manufacturers to improve product quality and accelerate the formation of a safer and more reliable power bank market.

During the 12-month transition period, relevant enterprises should act proactively, accelerate product upgrades and technical transformation, and prepare fully for the formal implementation on April 1, 2027. At the same time, regulators, industry associations, and media should strengthen public communication so that the market can develop in a safer and more orderly manner.

This report has been compiled for reference on the basis of the Safety Technical Specification for Power Banks (GB 47372-2026), officially issued on April 3, 2026, together with related authoritative information. If later revisions or supplementary interpretations are issued, the latest official release shall prevail.

Interpretive Guide to the Safety Technical Specification for Power Banks